Fatma Özcan is a Principal Software Engineer at Google, specializing in systems research, with a focus on ML for databases, NL2SQL, and large-scale data analytics platforms. Previously, she held roles at IBM Almaden Research Center, where she was a Distinguished RSM and senior manager, contributing to the development of Big SQL, DB2 pureXML, and several SQL standards. A distinguished member of ACM, Fatma has held various leadership positions, including vice chair of ACM SIGMOD, co-chair of CRA-Industry, and editor-in-chief of PVLDB, while also serving on numerous program committees and boards for major conferences and journals in the database field.
Breadth of Practices in Academia-Industry Relationships
March 20-21, 2025
The Alexis Royal Sonesta Hotel Seattle
1007 First Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104
Event Contact
Helen Wright
hwright@cra.org
Event Type
Event Category
Overview
We know that collaboration between academia and industry is crucial in driving technological advancements and economic growth. By identifying successful partnership approaches and a range of practices, stakeholders can pave the way for enhanced collaboration, leading to the development of cutting-edge technologies, job creation, and economic prosperity. The goal for this workshop is to bring together computing research stakeholders spanning academia and industry, and ask them targeted partnership questions such as:
- Utilizing Industry Resources: How can academia effectively utilize industry resources and expertise to improve research outcomes?
- Shaping Curriculum: How can industry play a more active role in helping universities align curriculum with evolving industry needs and trends?
- Incentivizing Collaboration: What incentives can universities offer faculty and researchers to engage in collaborative projects with industry partners?
- Promoting Entrepreneurship: How can universities better facilitate technology transfer and entrepreneurship to turn academic research into real-world applications?
- Ensuring Equitable Partnerships: What strategies can be implemented to ensure fair distribution of benefits and recognition in academia-industry partnerships?
By addressing these questions, participants will learn from each other and come up with a “breadth of practices” document to share with the computing research community.
If you have any questions about this workshop or are interested in attending, please reach out to Helen Wright at hwright@cra.org.
Agenda
March 20, 2025 (Thursday)
07:30 AM | BREAKFAST |
08:30 AM | Welcome |
09:00 AM | Keynote: Scott DeBoer, Executive Vice President of Micron |
09:45 AM | Participant Talks |
10:30 AM | BREAK |
11:00 AM | Participant Talks |
11:45 AM | Participant Flash Talks |
12:30 PM | LUNCH |
01:30 PM | Industry Panel |
02:30 PM | BREAK |
03:00 PM | Breakout Session |
03:45 PM | Report Out from Breakout Groups |
04:30 PM | Recap and Plan for Next Day |
06:00 PM | DINNER |
March 21, 2025 (Friday)
08:00 AM | BREAKFAST |
09:00 AM | Industry Panel |
10:00 AM | BREAK |
10:30 AM | Breakout Session |
11:15 AM | Report Out from Breakout Groups |
12:30 PM | ADJOURN, lunch boxes to go |
Organizers
Mary Hall
Director of the Kahlert School of Computing
University of Utah
Mary Hall is the Director of the Kahlert School of Computing at University of Utah, which is the state’s flagship university located within Utah’s capitol city and burgeoning tech corridor. This unique positioning of the university stimulates unique partnership opportunities. In 2022, she co-moderated (along with Ben Zorn of Microsoft Research) a CRA-Industry Roundtable on Building Stronger Regional Academia-Industry-Government Computing Research Partnerships.
Amit Jain
Professor, Department of Computer Science
Boise State
Dr. Amit Jain was the chair of the Computer Science Department at Boise State University from 2018-2024, where he helped lead explosive growth over the last ten years. He is particularly passionate about his role in the synergy between industry and academia that has been instrumental in this transformation of both the department and the local tech industry.
Fatma Özcan
Principal Software Engineer
Google
Vivek Sarkar
Dean, College of Computing
Georgia Tech
Vivek Sarkar is the John P. Imlay, Jr. Dean of the College of Computing at Georgia Tech, and a professor in the School of Computer Science. His research focuses on parallel computing, including programming languages, compilers, runtime systems, and debugging and verification for high-performance systems. Prior to his academic career, Vivek had extensive experience in the tech industry, working at IBM, where he was a key contributor to the development of parallel programming tools and systems for high-performance computing.
Logistics
If you have any questions about how to attend, please reach out to Helen Wright at hwright@cra.org.